All Forum Posts by: Alex Zweydoff

Hello everyone,

I've been managing my short-term rental (STR) in the Orlando area for a few years now. Initially, I handed over the management of my property to a company, giving up 25% of my earnings for them to handle everything from guest relations to cleaning and maintenance. This worked well at first, but I started noticing "ghost" charges for random repairs and services: $45 for a door knob replacement, $85 for wall repairs, $65 for a toilet leak, etc. It became too difficult to trust that the extra work being performed was actually needed.

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I opened a new host account to handle guest interactions myself, hired a local handyman for emergencies, and found a cleaning person who could also act as my eyes and ears for any required handyman services. I'm happy to report that this approach has been working out great! My total property management cost has dropped from 25% to about 10% per month, with $0 in extra "ghost" fees.

This success has inspired me to consider starting a handyman/cleaning business in the Orlando area to help other Airbnb hosts like myself. I’m seeking advice on how much to charge for these services. I was thinking that the cleaning fee could simply be covered by whatever the host is currently charging their guests, and the maintenance fee could be a set monthly amount to cover basic needs such as pool cleaning/maintenance, lawn care, pool deck cleaning, and minor touchups.

What do you all think about this? What would be a fair price to charge for this service? Please keep in mind that this business model assumes the host is willing to handle guest interactions themselves.

Thank you for your insights and suggestions!

Hello everyone,

I'm feeling a bit indecisive about what to do next and could use some advice.

I recently moved to the United States 7 months ago, specifically to Orlando, FL. I've managed to save up $20,000 and I'm considering investing it in real estate. My idea is to buy a house and rent it out, so it can pay for itself while I live in a family-owned house.

Would you recommend buying a house in Orlando right now? How is the market currently? Every time I look for options, I can't seem to find anything.

Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Ah, but there are some of us on BP who are real estate investors/owners, and who are interested in finding good property management options.  I'm one, and I just hugely expanded my prospects to consider, so I guess some of us "self-refer."

It's fine for training and networking, but, you will most likely not receive many clients from it.  Potential clients do not know of NARPM; and their site is geared towards building membership, not necessarily referring potential clients to its members.  I've been developing and managing our buildings since the late 70s.  I've only heard about NARPM here on BP; which isn't saying a lot.

But, it costs money to hire a professional!

Isn't it much cheaper to roll the dice and risk being ripped off to save pennies?

Investor education and sales services. 

Do your owners really know what their return is? Are you educating them on the market? Opportunities to expand their portfolio? When they choose to buy or sell, are you providing that service in-house?